I need help from the broody magicians of BYC!

[fluffycrow]

I have shared a little of this on the broody hen thread, but I felt like I was taking up way too much space for my personal problems, so I thought I'd create a thread instead. Now, I've been keeping chickens long enough to know you can't force broodyness. That being said, certain people have claimed some things help with encouraging it, all or most of which I've tried. But here is basically what has happened the last 2 years. The summer of 2021 I got 9 one month old pullets of a Greek landrace breed specifically raised for free range and brooodyness. Last summer, none went broody, but it could have been that they just turned 1 year old. I found a hen from a flock that regularly goes broody, and she was broody when I got her. Usually, broodies that are moved don't stay broody for long, but she did for two more weeks. The eggs were developing, and I kept a very close eye as her condition wasn't the greatest. At the two week mark she broke, and one week later escaped her pen and got stolen. That birds was most likely a mix of some sort, I'm thinking of a Tsouloufati, which is the breed my landrace hens are. But unlike the mix, not a single one has followed her footsteps. Last year I tried leaving eggs in the nest, didn't work. This year I've made better nest boxes, that are also placed in a darker area of the coop (I actually followed a BYC article to make these, and the girls love them, so thank you!) So now I come to you for help. I have a (supposedly) broody breed, and I've tried the regular techniques for encouraging broodyness, with no success whatsoever. Over the last 2 months I've learned how much knowledge this forum has, so this is truly the best place for me to ask for help. If any of you have any ideas, or know (or are) of any broody magicians, I'd really appreciate some help. The first photo is from the broody I got from the other flock, and the rest are from my hens

 

[fluffycrow]

I think you may need new chickens!
With mine, never mind what I do, they will go broody, nothing seems to discourage them.
If you have done everything right, then it must be the hens?

It's not the answer I want to hear, but it's probably the truth. Oh well, they're good egg layers so I'll definitely keep them, they're wonderful at free ranging as well

 

[aart]

Broodies can be fickle and a crap shoot.
People who want broodies often don't get them.
People who don't want them often have too many.

I had 5 hens go broody last year, at one point there were 3 at the same time.
It was a PITA as I didn't want to hatch chicks.

Several years ago I had a broody I let hatch in March, then she went broody 7 more times.
I broke her over and over again, finally gave her away and she never went broody again.

 

[Mrs. K]

It just depends on the broody Gods. Last spring I ordered special chicks, and Mrs. Feathers a proven successful broody for me. I had read that if you lock her in a small dark dog crate, on a pile of eggs, in a couple of days she will go broody.

Don't waste your time. Not at all... until 4 week later, long after I had raised up the chicks myself, THEN she went broody.

What amazes me, is how people can break a broody? I always have to give in and slip a few eggs under her.

Mrs K

 

[Goose Mama]

This is a little thing, but I would try turning your nesting crate on its side so the hen feels more secure with a "roof" over her head. Might not work, but cheap and easy to try.

 

[Chicken poppy]

So sorry to hear that, i’m going to tell you what helped mine become broody and maybe it can do the same for yours.

Good temps: mine did NOT like to go anywhere that was to hot or to cold and one of mine actually broke from the nest when it became to cold.

Favorite spots: The first step for me was developing a spot they like. They won’t go broody if they don’t like the nest, so try figuring out somewhere they might like. Even if it isn’t the darkest or the best looking to you, if they like it, thats all that matters. Mine have ALWAYS gone broody in their favorite spot and never anywhere else, even if those other spots were darker or easier to access.

Near food: Mine typically like to be near food and not super far away, especially for when they get off the nest to eat. Mine occasionally quit if food was to far.

Safe: All of mine went broody in a safe area, usually secluded, and typically not a popular nesting spot. (Though that can depend!) but a broody hen might leave if its to popular between the hens. If its to noisy and chaotic where the nests are, maybe thats the problem?

Clutch: Chickens know if the eggs are fake. Mine refused to touch a fake egg, and sometimes would karate fling it with their beak, so try using real eggs.

Breed: If all of this fails, it is probably your breed and you might want different chickens.

Best of luck! Mine didn’t go broody with their first year either and sometimes it takes a while for them to get started.

 

[Yardmom]

I have seen evidence of a genetic connections of broody or not broody hens Unfortunately in might be that your strain of the breed is not prone to broodiness. The only hint I have is, forget to pick eggs frequently. If the hormones are leaning towards broody it can tip them over the edge. It only works if they are already feeling the pull.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

In my experience hens go broody when they would have the most success. Plentiful resources and low stress. Is there some thing that is limited that would matter to a mama hen? Do you have a bully in the flock or lots of predators around?

Also, I never had a broody who didn’t go broody their first summer as an adult. If yours have never gone broody and that’s something you value, I would seriously think about getting some new chickens.

 

[fluffycrow]

Also, I'd like to say that searching up the breeds I've mentioned above might not be too fruitful. The only results you might get are of some threads from here on BYC, and that's because they're posts I wrote of these chickens. Outside of Greece they'res not really anyone aware of these breeds existence, so they're not well documented. And yes, I've covered most of the points on the broody thread as well, but I felt a little bit too much of a nuisance taking all that space to write about my problems, so I feel more comfortable having my own thread to discuss my problems

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

If you have the recommended 1 nesting box per 4 hens, and the recommend coop and run spacing (4 sq-ft of coop and 10 sq-ft of run per chicken) then I doubt it’s anything to do with your set up. Bedding won’t matter if a chicken wants to be a mama, mine have nested in leaves, hay, pine shavings, or dirt according to their whims.

I think your chickens aren’t interested in being broody. Perhaps you could find another couple of previously-broody hens to add to your flock.